The economic life of
Jains in medieval times can be reconstructed from a host of indigenous and
European language sources. The indigenous language sources are mostly in Gujarati,
Rajasthani, Hindi, Sanskrit, etc., while the European language sources are
primarily in Portuguese, English, Dutch, French, etc. However at the outset,
certain important characteristics of the two types of sources should be noted.

Most of the indigenous
language sources lack quantitative data. The contemporary literature in
Gujarati, Rajasthani, Hindi and Sanskrit, etc., speak of the 'affluence' and
'prosperity' of individual Jains and of the community in different places but
they seldom give any significant statistical data. We are left to deduce their
economic clout from desriptions of grand reception accorded to the monks or the
money or goods distributed in charities on religious or social occasions or by
the number of idols installed or the number of temples built or organization of
pilgrim parties of the community members to Jain holy places.

On the other hand, the
European language sources, especially the documents of the various European
trading companies such as the Portguese, the English, the Dutch, the French
etc., describe their dealings with Jain traders as with others on the Indian
soil in concrete terms. They mention the quantum and types of goods sold or
purchased as also their prices. They discuss the comparative status of Jain traders
as compared to others in a place by writing about the extent of their trade
contacts, the variety of commodities dealt by them, their command over liquid
capital, their participation in banking operations, etc. The information
becomes more copious from the seventeenth century onwards when the English and
the Dutch and following them, the French extended their operations into the
internal parts of India and their activities covered the whole of the north
Indian plains, the western coast from Sindh to Kerala and the eastern Cormondal
coast. In other words, it is from these documents that we can deduce the almost
pan-Indian character of Jain economic activities and their dispersal in
different parts of India.

The documents of the
English and the Dutch East India Companies enable us to trace the all India
trade net-work operated by Virji Vora, the Jain trader of Surat, the greatest
in India in the seventeenth century. The English documents underline his first
appearance on the commercial scence in 1619. Again the English and the Dutch
documents trace the evolution of the House of Jagat Seth in eastern India and
its journey on way to becoming the greatest trading and banking firm in India
in the opening decades of the eighteenth century. The career of Virji Vora is
well traced in W. Foster's edited thirteen volumes of the documents of the
English East India Company1. Till Virji Vora faded from the
pages of history in 1670s, he had intimate relations with the English Company
and we get a detailed account of his business activities.

A collection of the
document of the Dutch East India Company, edited by Coolhas2 also deserves mention because the
Dutch Company also had extensive business dealings with him. He was also
Company's most important credit supplier and also the purchaser of their
imported goods.

The French traveller
Thevenot who visited India in 1660s, struck friendship with Virji Vora in
Surat. He speaks of the monetary loss the great merchant suffered as a result
of the attack of Shivaji on Surat in 16643. His information enables us to form
an idea of the capital at the command of Virji Vora and his capacity to
withstand enormous losses.

Our sources make it
clear that the Jains cutting across their sectarian divisions primarily
continued to be connected with trade and allied activities such as money
lending, money changing, banking, insurance, etc. The profits generated through
trade enabled them to function as bankers, moneychangers, etc., The profits
were again ploughed back into commercial pursuits and contributed to their
material prosperity and economic and political clout.

Our evidence also shows
that a section functioned as petty traders, saw ups and downs in their business
career and just managed to keep their body and soul together. Some Jains also took
up jobs in the government, especially in the revenue department, where literacy
and knowledge of accounting were required. In the employment of the government
some rose to high posts. But the proportion of Jains working as administrative
functionaries was small.

As traders, bankers and
moneychangers, Jains were found in all the principal ports and commercial marts
of north Indian plains and western India. They were also found in the important
villages and small towns, especially in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and
Gujarat. The description in regional languages of the journeys performed by
Jain monks and the reception accorded to them in various villages, small and
big towns shows the presence of Jain population in these place. It is all
obvious that they were numerically small but their economic influence far
exceeded their numbers.

The Jains have been
famous traders since ancient times. In medieval times they persisted in the
profession and prospered. Jagdu of Gujarat was the most famous Jain trader of
the thirteenth century in Gujarat and his affluence was well known.4

The Jains were engaged
in trade at all levels. Some were big traders, who were concerned with
wholesale and long distance trade, inter-regional as well as foreign. Other
participated in inter-regional commerce and were fairly affluent. They were
both whole-salers as well as retailers. A section, not so affluent, earned its
living through retail trade. Many were moneylenders and bankers.

Oftentimes, the medium
and small traders also acted as brokers; they were the vital links between the
big trader and the primary producer. This profession received a boost in the
seventeenth century when the European trading companies started operating in
the inland trading marts and established direct contact with the primary
producers in order to purchase goods at cheap prices. Inability to speak the
local dialect and unfamiliarity with the local conditions, forced the Europeans
to depend more and more on brokers. Along with other Indian brokers (who came
from the Hindu Vaishya community or the Parsi or Muslim communities), the Jains
also took advantage of this opportunity.

The Jains as other
Indian traders profited from this expansion of trading activities. This
explains their strong presence in Agra5, the entrepot of north Indian
trade. Besides, they were well-represented in two other important trade marts
of north India, Lahore6 and Multan7. One would not be wrong in assuming
that from Lahore and Multan, the Jains took part in India's overland trade with
Afghanistan, Iran and trans-Oxus region of Central Asia. From these places
sometimes they moved on to the Russian empire.7a

The Jains utillized the
capital which they commanded in many other activities allied to trade. They
became moneylanders, advancing huge sums to traders as well as to rulers and
officers of the state. Since the European trading companies in the seventeenth
century were generally short of liquid capital they turned to Indian
moneylanders, among them the Jains, to finance their purchases on the Indian
soil. This, brought additional profits to Jains and other Indian merchants.

Along with other Indian
traders, the Jains then branched out into the business of issuing Hundis,
i.e., the transfer of money from one place to another. A part of the reason for
their success in this enterprise was the family and/or the community net-work,
which encompassed several commercial centres. The profits earned from
commission which they charged on Hundis further enriched them, helped
them to expand business by consolidating or developing new areas of trade.

With plently of business
expertise and capital at their disposal the Jains had no problem in taking up
the highly flourishing business of the exchange of coins coming into India form
different parts of the world on account of India's favourable balance of
payment position. The multiplicity of coins prevalent in India also required
this facility to keep up business operations.

The multidimensionality
of Jain business enterprise can be very well appreciated when we take a look at
the career of some leading Jain merchants in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.

Among these Jain
merchants, Virji Vora of Surat in Gujarat is preeminent.

Virji Vora was the
greatest merchant of India in the seventeenth contury. Prof. Kamdar on the
basis of some Jain documents has described him as a Sthanakvasi Jain of the
Lonkagacchiya group.8

He enters the pages of
history when the documents of the English East India mention him for the first
time9 on 22 March, 1619. For the next
half-a-century Virji Vora remained in the lime light on the economic scene in
Surat. The English records mention him for the last time in 1670.10

Virji Vora had extensive
dealings with both the English and the Dutch East India Companies and later on
with the French East India Company and other traders of note in the port town.11

He combined in himself
the role of a trader, a money-lender, banker, etc.

As a trader, Virji Vora
dealt in commodities in bulk, both imported as well as those destined for
export. A Dutch author notes "[He was] usually buying or selling such
varied commodities as cotton, opium, spices, ivory, coral, lead, silver and
gold, practically everything which changed hands in the wholesale market of
Surat"11

From the English he
bought coral and ivory.13 From the Dutch in 1648 he bought
cloves and in 1650 tea (20 maunds)14.

Sometimes he along with
some other principal merchants in Surat purchased entire cargoes valued from 5
to 10 lakhs of rupees15. In 1650 in alliance with the Dutch
broker Mohandas Parekh, Virji Vora purchased all the goods brought by the Dutch
to Surat.16

He was also able to
purchase Indian commodities in bulk and sometimes was the only person in a
position to meet the demands of the European companies for these goods. In 1625
English had to purchase Rs. 10,000 worth of pepper from him since he alone
could supply the quantaum needed by them. The English were forced to pay the
price he charged. When additional quantity of pepper reached Surat, the English
tried to purchase it but Virji Vora outbid the English and secured the entire
stock. The English tried to escape from Virji Vora's monopolistic tendencies
and sent their agents to the Deccan to purchase pepper. Virji Vora countered
the English move by instructing his men there to offer higher prices and
prevented the former from obtaining the commodity. The English were finally
forced to secure their supplies form him.17 Virji Vora had become the
monopolist of Malabar pepper. Everyone needing the commodity had to turn to
him.18 This is but one instance of the
dominance exercised by Virji Vora in the Surat market.

Virji Vora could dictate
terms to the European trading companies and also compel his Indian competitors
to refrain from annoying him because he had built up a net-work of his agents
in different trading marts of India and abroad. They were stationed in Broach,
Baroda, Ahmedabad, Agra, Burhanpur, Golkonda, in the trading centres on† the north Malabar and the Coromandel coasts,
etc.19 He had his men in the trade marts
of the Arabian peninsula, Iraq, Iran, Java, etc. He used European shipping for
sending or bringing goods20. Such positioning of agents enabled
him to buy commodities at the source of their production at much cheaper prices
and hence, could afford to outbid others in pricing these commodities. He owned
ships as well21. The reason he could create such an
extensive trading organization was the enormous capital at his disposal. An
idea of his wealth can be had from the fact that in 1664 Shivaji sacked Surat
and looted his residence and ware-houses. A Dutch eye-witness reported that he
carried six barrels of gold, money, pearls, gems and other precious
commodities.22 Foster computes Virji Vora lost £
50,00023. A Dutch Chaplain at Surat in 1664 called
him the richest merchant in the world.24 His fortune was estimated at eight
million rupees25. Such was Virji Vora's vitality
that he soon recovered and was once again functioning as the prime trader of
Surat.

The availability of so
much cash enabled Virji Vora to function as the most important moneylender of
Surat. All the European trading companies at one time or another were indebted
to him and for that reason were afraid to alienate or displease him. He would
compel the Europeans to sell to him imported commodities at prices he fixed. No
Indian or any other trader in Surat would venture to purchase these for fear of
offending him. The Europeans were left without an option; they had to accept
the terms laid down by Virji Vora. Of course, this was highly unpalatable to
them. The English disgust with Virji Vora is apparent when he is called as
the'...most injurious man'26 to their trade. In spite of such
hard feelings the English East India Company continued to deal with him because
of three reasons: he was an important buyer of goods brought by them;27 he was the most reliable provider
of Indian goods needed by them for exports; finally, he lent them money
whenever they needed it to arrange cargo for their ships.

Probably his ability to
supply liquid capital required by Europeans was the most decisive factor which
forced them to comply with his directives. The foreigners were often short of
ready money and on such occasions, he was their invariable saviour.

A look at the sums
advanced by Virji Vora to the Europeans is instructive.

Apart from such small
sums as Rs. 20,000 in 1635, Rs. 30,000 in 1636, he lent heavy sums such as Rs.
2 lakhs in 1636 and Rs.1,00,000 in 1642 in Ahmedabad. When the English borrowed
Rs. 4,00,000 in 1669 in Surat from a group of creditors, Virji Vora was an
important member of the group.

It should be noted that
Virji Vora was capable of lending money not only in Surat but also in most of
the important commercial centres where the Europeans were operating.

The abve story was
repeated in case of the Dutch Compay V.O.C. as well.

Virji Vora's capacity to
advance loans in places other than Surat made him invaluable to the English and
the Dutch; both borrowed from the agents of Viri Vora outside Surat.

On one occasion at Agra,
Kalidas Mega, agent of Virji Vora lent Rs. 43,000/- to the Dutch at 11 p.c. In
1634 at Agra another agent of Virji provided the Dutch with Rs. 16,000 out of
Rs. 44,000 which they had borrowed.28

The English also
borrowed from Virji Vora Rs. 50,000/- at Agra in 1630. In 1650, the agent
of Virji Vora in Golconda advanced a loan of 10,000 old Pagodas to the English
East India Company.29 The amount financed the Company's
voyage to Pegu in Burma. On this occasion he charged interest of the rate of 11/2 per cent month.30 The rate of interest charged by
Virji Vora varied according to the exigencies of the situation.

Of course, for all these
loans, he charged a heavy amount of interest. The English paid him though they
disliked him for the exorbitant interest they had to pay. They were helpless;
they agreed because it made sound business sense.

Besides, being a
purchaser and provider of goods and also being a creditor, Virji Vora also
rendered other services to them. Both the English and the Dutch found it
convenient to transfer money from one place to another through the agency of
the firm of Virji Vora.

The Voc always remitted money from Surat
through the agency of Virji Vora.31 The English in 1630 sent Rs.
15,000/- through a Bill of Exchange from Surat to Agra through Virji Vora.32

The business
relationship between Virji Vora and the Europeans could develop because it was
highly advantageous to the latter in many ways.

A Dutch author has conceded
that much of the early success of the Dutch Company was due to services
rendered by Virji Vora.33

In short, Virji Vora, so
long as he was active, remained the most important trader in Surat; this was
accepted on all hands by the contemporaries.

An Armenian Khwaja
Minaz, who was himself a prominent merchant of Surat from 1660s onwards
purchased broad cloth on behalf of Virji Vora34. Minaz was financing voyages to
Manila.34a

The preeminent position
of Virji Vora in the economic life of Surat was recognised by the imperial
Mughal authorities. They sought his advice and consulted him whenever any
problem cropped up between the government and the traders.35 Similarly, traders, both Indians
and foreigners sought his goods offices for the redressal of† their grievances against the government.
There are numerous instances when the Mughal authorities sought his assistance
to resolve a crisis situation.

The Governor of Surat
formed a committee in 1636 to inquire into the looting of two ships belonging
to Surat merchants by English pirates. Virji Vora was made a member of the
committee.36

After the sack of Surat
by Shivaji in 1664, the local Mughal governor sent Virji Vora and Haji Zahid
Beg another important merchant to the imperial court to plead for the fortfication
of town as a measure of sucurity against future attacks.37

It seems that around
1670 Virji Vora renounced the world, entrusted the business to his family
members and retired to a monastery.37a

Like his early life, we
hardly have details about his last days.

From 1619 to 1670 Virji
Vora dominated the business scene in Surat, the premier port of India. He had
successfully competed against the Indian and Asian merchants and also the
Europeans. The later were a formidable foe since they did not mind using their
fire-power on the high seas to enforce their demands. But Virji Vora by his
economic acumen and clout ensured that the Europeans complied with his wishes
and did not resort to extra-economic coercion. Virji Vora's top position
remained unchallenged.

What is remarkable is
that Virji Vora had achieved this distinction without any political support.

Unfortunately, neither
the European nor the indigenous sources give us any idea of his life-style. But
we do learn that he tried to discharge his social responsibility. During the
severe famine of 1630-32, he distributed grain and cooked food to the hungry
and needy.37b Like other Jains of his age, he
lavishly contributed to the socio-religious functions of his community.

Most of the Jain traders
in medieval times, the big, the medium and the ordinary, generally traded in
precious stones diamonds, rubies, pearls, etc. They also sold ornaments, which
are always in demand in the Indian society, cutting across caste, class and
religion. The Jains took advantage of this persisting demand.

It appears that
investment in jewels and jewellery was a form of earning high profit and a form
of hoarding wealth in troubled medieval times. These could be easily hidden and
transported whenever the local condition became troublesome. Unfortunately this
was not rare.38

Jain jewellers were to
be found in places where there was a concentration of nobility, administrative
functionaries and businessmen.39

Ahmedabad was a reputed
mart for jewellery and precious stones. The English ambassador Sir Thomas Roe
and the French traveller Tavernier, both mention this40. Shantidas was the most prominent
trader in jewels. For obtaining diamonds he used to visit Bijapur, a centre of
diamond mining and trade.41 Since the Mughal rulers were fond of
jewels, they kept in touch with prominent jewellers. This was an important
reason why Shah Jahan used to address Shantidas as 'Mama' or Uncle.42 Jahangir had appointed him as his
jeweller and it was expected that "(he) should offer gifts and present and
every kind of jewellery" to the emperor.43 He sold jewels to Asaf Khan, the
brother of Nur Jahan and father-in-law of Emperor Shah Jahan44. Prince Dara Shikoh also bought
jewels from him.45

His wealth was
well-known to the royal family and this made him an object of extortion. During
the war of succession following the serious illness of Shah Jahan, Prince Murad
forcibly extracted from Shantidas and his family a sum of Rs. 5.50 lakhs.46 It was a measure of his usefulness
to the Mughal court that when Murad lost the war, Aurangzeb, who became the
Emperor ordered Rahmat Khan to return one lakh rupees from the royal treasury
as a part payment towards the loan incurred by his deceased brother.47

Aurangzeb sought to
derive political mileage out of his magnamity and issued to Shantidas another
firman asking him to convey to the "merchants and the mahajans and
to all the inhabitants", his " goodwill towards them".48

Shantidas like Virji
Vora was consulted by the Mughal authorities on matters affecting the state of economy
in the city. The other traders also accepted him as their spokesman and he was
definitely 'the first' among them. He interceded on their behalf with the
imperial authorities. Like other Jain traders, Shantidas had several business
interests. He also participated in long distance sea trade. This is evident
from the fact that an English ship which was captured by pirates had goods
belonging to Shantidas. According to one version his loss amounted to 10,000
rupees and according to another, to 35,000 rupees.49

Since many other
Gujarati traders had also suffered losses, Shantidas organised the Ahmedabad mahajan
to put pressure on the† English East
India Company to make good their losses. When the Englishmen dallied, he
prevailed on the local authorities to punish the Englishmen, who were put
behind bars. Ultimately, the English relented and Shantidas was paid the amount
he was claiming.50

Another reason for
Shantidas's influence was his capacity to advance loans to the Europeans. This
was a source of income as well as influence. Shantidas regularly lent money to
the European East India Companies. In 1627 the English borrowed from him 10,000
rupees at 1 p.c. interest per month.51

Like Virji Vora,
Shantidas also exercised great influence over the local trading community. The
English complained that in 1640, there was a great shortage of money in
Ahmdedabad and all small merchants were unwilling to lend because Shantidas was
holding his money.52 The local traders considered him as
their role model.

Shantidas became the
Nagar Seth of Ahmedabad. Subsequently a number of his discendants became Nagar
Seth of the city.52a

Such vast economic power
and influence, however, did not insulate both these merchants from local
bureaucratic tyranny. The political master always remained supreme and the
merchants either had to toe their line or to persuade the to accept their view.
This created a highly unfavourable situation for he merchants, who had to
contend with political uncertainties along with ups and downs in business.

Hakim Sadra
(Masih-uz-Zaman) who became the governor of Surat in 1638, was personally
interested in trade. He wanted to corner all supplies of pepper and extorted
money form the merchants of Surat. To terrorise the trading community, he even
imprisoned Virji Vora. When the matter came to the knowledge of Shah Jahan, he
ordered his release.53 In order of soothe his feelings to
Shah Jahan invited him to the imperial court.

Shantidas incurred the
wrath of Prince Aurangzeb, while he was the governor of Gujarat. The latter
ordered the defilement of the temple of Chintamani Parsvanath which Shantidas
had constructed in the Saraspur suburb of Ahmedabad. When Shah Jahan came to
know of it, he ordered its restoration to Shantidas and some compensation was
also paid to him.54

The above two incidents
are highly revealing.

The fact comes out that
in Gujarat the Jain traders, despite enjoying economic dominance, could not
escape bureaucratic tyranny. Normally they seldom got involved in politics. They
adopted a neutral stance. They reacted when their collective economic interests
were threatened or when the tyranny became unbearable. This is illustrated by
the following example. The Hindu and Jain merchants of Surat enmasse left the
city to protest against the behavious of the local Qazi55 who was trying to force them to
accept Islam. The emperor intervened when he realized that the economic life of
the city would be disrupted and the state exchequer would be adversely
affected. The Qazi was recalled and the traders returned to Surat.

While political
neutrality was the hall-mark of traders in Western India, the story is differnt
when we take up the fortunes of another Jain trading concern, the House of
Jagat Seth which emerged in eastern India in the last quarter of the
seventeenth century.

The founder of the House
of Jagat Seth was Hiranand Shah, an Oswal Jain from Nagaur in Marwar who came
down to Patna in 1652.56 He started as a banker and a trader
of saltpetre57. Saltpetre from Bihar was then the most
sought after commodity by the Europeans58 and† he soon prospered. He advanced loans to Europeans and discounted
bills of exchange, they received from other places.

Hiranand Sha's eldest
son, Manikchand moved to Dacca, the capital of Bengal and a famous centre for
producing the finest muslin in the world. Banking business which entailed
supply of liquid moeny to Europeans and Indian merchants was thriving in the
seventeenth century as business flourished in Bihar and Bengal in the second
half of the seventeenth century after the Dutch and the English systematically
started exploring its markets for cotton textiles, silk, opium, saltpetre, etc.
Bengal and Bihar were the most important†
entrepot for the European and Asian merchants, where they obtained goods
for export to European and Asian markets. Manikchand was financing even the
private trade of Josiah Chitty, an employee of the English East India Company.59

Manik Chand developed
cordial relations with Murshid Quli Khan, 'the Supreme head of financial administration
in the province'.60 When the capital of Bengal was
shifted to Murshidabad from Dacca, Manik Chand also moved over to the new city;
the establishment at Dacca was not closed since Dacca remained a mint town of
the Mughal empire and a flourishing trade centre.61

Under the direction of
Manik Chand, the banking operations expanded and soon he had brancehs all over
Bengal and north India under different names. When Farrukh Siyar declared
himself the Mughal emperor in Patna in 1712 he borrowed money from local
bankers. Manikchand was his chief creditor.62 He had became a close† confidant of Murshid Quli Khan and received
from the Emperor the title of Nagar Seth.63 The nearness of The House to the
Bengal Governor and the Emperor was a crucial factor in the economic progress
of the family.

After Manik Chand's
death in 1714, his nephew Fateh Chand succeeded him. He was also a favourite of
Murshid Quli Khan. Under him the House reached its zenith. His influence over
the money market of the Mughal empire was dominant. In this he differed from
both Virji Vora and Shantidas. The Mughal Emperor made him the 'Treasurer
General of Bengal' and Emperor Muhammad Shah†
conferred upon him the designation of Jagat Seth as a hereditary
distinction.64 It is said that before making this
recommendation to the Emperor, Murshid Quli Khan forced Fateh Chand to pay him
five lakh rupees.65 The Central Office of the House at
Dacca was styled as 'Manik Chand Jagat Seth Fateh Chandji'.

Fateh Chand's nearness
to the political supremos in Delhi and Murshidabad gradually led to his
involvement in the politics of the period. The European companies courted him
for his word carried great weight with the Nawab and the Mughal Emperor.
Whenever they needed some favour from the Nawab or the Emperor, they routed
their request through the House of Jagat Seth.

The English and Dutch
companies requested Jagat Seth Fateh Chand not to interede on behalf of the
Ostend Company with the Nawab when it pleaded for the issuance of a firman
permitting them to trade. Finally, when the Ostend Company struck a deal with
the Nawab,66 it deposited Rs. 70,000/- in the
bank of Jagat Seth. The money was to be handed over to the Nawab after the
Ostenders received the imperial firman.67

Fateh Chand's and his
successor Mahtab Rai, held that the right to the minting of coins in Bengal
exclusively belonged to them even though the English East India Company had
obtained an imperial rescript to use the imperial mint for coining gold and
silver coins. The Bengal Nawab agreed with the views of the Jagat Seths.68 This privilege made the Seths the
biggest buyer of silver in Bengal.69 Another author describes the House
as the 'biggest purchaser of all the bullion imported to Bengal.'70

In 1751 the Nawab of
Bengal ordered the Dutch, the English and the French East India Companies to
'send all money whether Bullion or Rupees to the Mint at Muxadvad (Murshidabad)
to be coined there into siccas or disposed of to Jugut seat (Jagat Seth)
and† forbidding the Europeans to pay
away any Money to their Merchants but the new Siccas'.71

The right to mint coins
was a source of great profit to the Jagat Seths since it enabled them to
exercise dominant control over the money market. Secondly, since Bengal was an
important trade mart, coins of various countries were brought here as Bengals's
exports always exceeded her imports. They were sometimes reminted and this gave
the Jagat Seths great profit because they could decide and charge the batta
i.e. the relative exchange rate. Also they exchanged the various coins and
received commission for this sevice. According to one estimate, the House
'coined 5 million rupees a year and the profit n this account amounted to 0.35
million rupees'.72

An author has
graphically described the reasons for the tremendous influence wielded by the
House of Jagat Seth. "The major sources of the huge income, tremendous
power and great prestige of the house of Jagat Seth were derived from their
farms of Murshidabad and Dacca mints, two-thirds of the province's revenue
collection, their control over rates of exchange, interest rates, bill-broking
and the provision of credit'.73

The economic importance
of the House received impetus when it was called upon to remit the annual
tribute of the Subah to Delhi.74

The existence of branches
of the House in all the important trade centres in eastern, northern and
western India, enabled the House to carry on the work of transmission of money
through hundis.75 This was a very important segment
of their activities. A contemporary author noted that a darshani hundi
between rupees fifty lakhs and one crore could be drawn in the time of Seth
Fateh Chand.76 The prosperity of the House was so
well established that even when the Marathas in 1742 looted Rupees two crores
from the House of Jagat Seth, its liquidity was not impaired. In 1747 the Chief
of the Dacca Factory of the English East India Company received Rs. one lakh by
means of a hundi sent from Kasimbazar and discounted by the House of
Jagat Seth.

The command over so much
cash enabled the House to advance large sums as credits, commercial or
otherwise.

All the European trading
companies were dependent upon the House in times of need. The House was playing
the same role which Virji Vora played in Surat in the seventeenth century.

In 1732 when the English
East India Company sent Rs. 1,50,000 to Patna, they borrowed the amount
from the House of Jagat Seth.78 At Kasim Bazar, the servants or the
Comapany borrowed Rs. 2,00,000 from the House79. The Company was irritated but had
to admit that if they were to trade in Bengal.80 "Futteh Chand must be
satisfied" and "the house must be kept in temper".

In 1747 the English
Factory at Dacca had borrowed heavily from the House of Jagat Seth and others
and was not in a position to pay the interest.81

The Dutch and the French
companies were equally obliged to the House for credits.

In 1756, the Dutch
borrowed 4 lakhs at 9 per cent from the House of Jagat Seth. A little earlier,
the French company owed one and half millon rupees to the House.82

The representative of
the House stood surety for the Amirs of Delhi when Ahmad Shah invaded Delhi in
1757 and was extorting money from the Mughal nobles.83

The House advanced loans
to European companies, the government and private European merchants, nobles as
well as Indian businessmen.

Of course, a part of the
reason for their success was the close nexus they had forged with the Nawabs of
Bengal right from the days of Murshid Quli Khan till the English became
ascendant after the battle of Plassey in 1757. Their relations were equally
cordial with the Mughal rulers in Delhi.

But after the battle of
Plassey the political scenario underwent a change. Nawab Sirajuddaula
distrusted them and Nawab Mir Kasim killed Jagat Seth Mahtab Rai and Maharaja
Swarup Chand and held their family members as hostage.

The English East India
Company and its servants gained immense booty after their victory at Plassey.
The grant of Diwani by the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam further reduced the need of
the Company to look for money for commercial investments. The dependence on the
House of Jagat Seth for capital was gone and this heralded their decline.
Within a decade their economic prosperity had suffered a great setback. This is
evident from the following instance.

In the famine of 1770, Jagat
Seth Khushal Chand donated only 5000/- rupees while an ordinary trader Gopi
Mondal gave 50,000/- rupees.84

Such an affluent family
as that of the Jagat Seth had a lavish life-style despite the Jain emphasts on
austerity. For example, Mahtab Rai and Swarup Chand were purchasing
Rs. 1,50,000/- worth of Dacca muslin in 1747 for household use. The Bengal
Nawab purchased muslin worth Rs. 3,00,000 an year.85 Even when the House was
economically declining and in 'dire economic strait', Jagat Seth Khushal Chand
declined a pension of Rs. three lakhs an year offered by Robert Clive because
he claimed that his household expenses were Rs. one lakh per month.86

The House of Jagat Seth
whose capital in early sixties was calculated at 7 crore rupees was now
inexorably sliding to its decline.87

Clive during his second
stay in Bengal offered Jagat Seth Khushal Chand a pension of Rs. three lakhs an
year but the latter declined. The fortune of the House of the Jagat Seth could
not be retrieved. In 1844 Jagat Seth Gobindchand sought a pension from the
Company and was granted a sum of Rs.1200/- per month.88

To sum up, the fortunes
of Virji Vora were based on long distance foreign and internal trade; the
prosperity of Shantidas depended upon internal trade and diamond trade; the
wealth of the House of Jagat Seth resulted from a combination of banking and
internal trade. It dabbled in politics, enjoyed enormous influence at the court
of the Mughal Emperor and the Bengal Nawab. The political revolution of 1757 in
Bengal changed the political-administrative scene to the detriment of the
interest of the House. Soon it faded into background.

Besides, these three top
merchants who were at the top in their time, there were several other Jains,
who achieved varied degree of success.

Karma Shah, the
well-known cloth trader of Chittor, earned so much money that he advanced a
loan of one lakh rupees to Bahadur Shah, the prince of Gujarat. When Bahadur
Shah became the ruler in 1526 A.D. Karmashah visited him in Ahmedabad. Bahadur
Shah returned the money and also permitted him to repair Jain temples on the
Satrunjay hill.89

Another important Jain
merchant of Mewar in the sixteenth century was Bhama Shah, who earned eternal
gratitude of the Sisodia ruling house and carved a name for himself in history
by helping Rana pratap during his fight against the Mughal ruler, Akbar.90

In the sixteenth
century, two Gujarati brothers Rajia and Vajiya belonging to Cambay became
prominent traders in the portuguese held port of Goa. Their affluence is
attested to by the grandeur of their shop which was adorned with an inverted
gold vessel at the top. They got a person released from the Portuguese
captivity in the port town of Goa by paying a huge ransom. When the person
after his release once sught to kill twenty-two thieves, the latter protested
saying that the particular day was sacred to Shah Rajiya. The person
immediately released them saying that Rajiya brothers were not only his great
friends but also had saved his life. He could not think of hurting their
feeling.91

Another important trader
of the port of Diu was Abhayraj, who owned four sea-going vessels and was very
rich.92

I have already pointed
out that the members of the Jain community in spite of being small in members
were widely distributed in the country. Most of them were either small or
medium businessmen, active in important villages, small towns and important
urban administrative and commercial centres.

This is best illustrated
by the history of the family of the famous Jain Hindi poet, Banarsidas who
lived during the reigns of three Mughal Emperors, Akbar, Jahangir and Shah
Jahan.

After Muldas' death in
Narwar (near Gwalior), his son Kharagsen (Banarsidas's father) left the place
along with his mother and arrived in Jaunpur (Uttar Pradesh) where the latter's
brother Madan Singh was a jeweller dealing in precious stones.93

Trade in precious stones
was an important profession† of Jains;
traders like Shantidas of Ahmedabad supplied gems to the royal Mughal
household. Besides these, there were a host of others, in small as well in
medium category, who catered to the vast clientele for earning their
livelihood. Also it was not unusual for the same person to try his hand at
several businesses.

Kharagsen, as he was
growing up, moved on to Agra in 1569 and in association with relatives, took up
shroffage, i,.e. exchange of coins of different varieties,94 a very populat business in medieval
times.

After some time he came
back to Jaunpur and in partnership with Ramdas Agrawal continued with the
business of shroffage. Side by side, he also sold pearls and precious stones.95

Since the local governor
Qulich Khan tyrannised over the jewellers, because they failed to satisfy his
demand for precious stones, Kharagsen and other jewellers fled Jaunpur.
Kharagsen left his family at the village of Shajadpur along with his son
Banarsidas and himself went to Allahabad to earn a living.96

In the absence of his
father, Banarsidas tried to earn some money by selling Cowries.97 It was his first foray in business and
his grandmother celebrated the occasion by distributing sweets out of the first
profit made by Banarsidas. Business was the basic profession, the Jains took
up. It did not matter even if the beginning was an humble one.

Banarsidas's father
decided to take a hand in training his son in the art of business. He took him
along to Allahabad, kept him as his under study and familiarised Banarsidas
with the profession of usury and pawning commodities98. Generally, by participating in
family business and by gaining practical experience, the scions of Jains learnt
the art of business. The distinct impression is that Jains did not specialise
in any particular commodity; they combined business in various items and were
active in the lucrative business of shroffage and moneylending.

In 1610 A.D. Kharagsen
was convinced that his son was capable of carrying on business independently.
He decided to give him a chance. He collected some jewel-incrusted ornaments,
some pieces of gems, twenty maunds of ghee, two barrels of oil, some
locally manufactured textiles, all costing rupees two hundred only. A part of
this amount was borrowed. He wrote down the prices on a piece of paper and
asked him to go to Agra and started business there.99

The spirit of
entrepreneurship displayed here should be noted. The father, personally
arranged that the son set himself up in business at a distant place on his own.
Of course, Agra being the capital city of the Mughal empire, was a flourishing
business centre and provided prospects for larger profits. This must have been
uppermost in the mind of Kharagsen when he selected the imperial city for his
son to start his business career.

As was customary in
those days Banarsidas joined a caravan, proceeding to Agra. The caravan
travelled on an average of five Kos (around fifteen kilometres) each day100. The journey was full of incidents
because of torrential rains but eventually Banarsidas reached Agra and began
trading101.

The transaction in oil
and ghee was profitable while he suffered loss in the sale of jewels and
ornaments. But overall the profits were enough to enable him to pay off all his
debts.102

After a stay of couple
of years, Banarsidas along with two friends undertook business trip to Patna,
then the most important commercial city in eastern India103. The journey was full of hazards;
they survived accidents, loss of way; attack by thieves,104 etc. They reached the city. Probably
this was a pleasure-cum-business trip. Banarsidas had literary and religious
interest and was unable to concentrate on business. He returned to Jaunpur.

After the death of his
father in 1616 A.D. Banarsidas decided to have another go at business. He
borrowed rupees five hundred and invested the money in the purchase of Jaunpuri
textiles.105 Raising capital on credit for
purposes of trade was an accepted practice. However, before he could start
trading he was summoned to Agra by Seth Sabalsingh Mothia. 106 Banarsidas entrusted the goods to a
friend and went to Agra. The purpose was to clear the accounts.

It seems that Banarsidas
was at this point of time issuing and receiving Hundis on behalf of
Sabalsingh and this was his primary source of livelihood.

The journey to Agra was
full of misadventures. On one occasion he was on the point of being arrested by
the police on charges of circulating counterfeit money. With great difficulty107 he managed to extricate himself
from this situation.

Sabalsingh Mothia was an
extremely rich trader. When Banarsidas reached Agra, he was enjoying with his
friends a programme of music and paid no heed to his pleas for clearing the
accounts. This continued for thirty months. Obviously rich traders could afford
to ignore their subordinates who had to submit to their whims. Eventually
Banarsidas met Sabalsingh's brother-in-law and requested him to plead on his
behalf. He persuaded Sabalsingh to give in writing that Banarsidas owed nothing
to him.108 This long wait must have
disenchanted Banarsidas from pursuing a commercial profession.

Banarsidas gave up his
trading activities and for the rest of his life devoted himself to literary and
religious pursuits.109

It is said in the time
of Jahangir, 88 Shvetambar Jain families lived in Agraa,109a

Savaji Kabanji Parekh of
Porbandar was another important Jain trader. He complained to Shah Jahan when
the local administrator raised tax from 3 p.c. to 6 p.c. on goods sold by him.
He succeeded in securing an imperial firman which ordered all the local
officials not to exact more than 3 p.c. as tax110. He constructed a Jain temple in
1635 A.D. but later on accepted Pushti Marg, as propagated by Vallabhacharya111.

A group of fourteen
merchants lent to the East India Company in Bengal between 31 March and 25 July
1670 a sum of 5.23 lakhs of rupees. Of these Kalyanchand Jesang and Kapurchand
were certainly Jains.112

The narrative underlines
certain important facts about the economic life of Jains in medieval times.
First, trade was their primary economic occupation. In pursuit of trade they
had spreed all over north India from Multan in the West to Patna, Rajmahal,
etc. in the east. They were to be found in major villages, small towns and† important commercial centres. Capital could
be easily raised for investment on credit. Loans were available as a part of normal
business practice.

The affluent merchants
had a wide trading network which enabled them to participate in long distance
trade and also receive and transfer money from and to different places.

The combination of
trade, banking and shroffage brought immense material prosperity to some Jains.
On occasions the economic clout was translated into political influence as the
history of the House of Jagat Seth amply demonstrates.

The Mughal capital Agra,
the commercial entrepot of the Mughal empire, was the headquarters of many
eminent Jain traders. Besides Sabalsingh, we know of Hiranand Mukim who was so
rich that the Mughal Emperor Jahangir visited his house as an invitee in 1610.
Jahangir† permitted him to lead a
congregation of Jains from Allahabad to the Jain holy place Sammed Shikhar in
Bihar.133 Uttamchand Jawahari has been
mentioned as another jeweller of Agra.114

It is clear that in
addition to their participation in banking and shroffage, a major source of
Jain affluence was their trade in diamonds, pearls and other precious stones.
In the seventeenth century diamond trade in India was booming. Even the
Europeans participated in this trade. Fischel notes, "...prominent London
Jews, who, attracted by the wealth of the diamond mines at Golconda, seriously
considered going to India settling in Madras. Already in 1670 London Jews were
interested in the Indian Diamond trade and a certain Rodrigues of Berry Street
and a Da Costa are reported to have paid some money into the East India Company
Bank"115

Involvement in trade,
banking usury exchange of coins required the person concerned to pick up at
least rudiments of 3 Rsóreading, writing and arithmatic. Since trade was their
primary profession, they were a literate community, Literacy among Jains had
deeper roots as they were exposed to the preachings of their wandering monks.
Wherever there was a concentration of some Jains, during the rainy season, some
monks would stay, deliever lectures on religious scriptures. Hence, as a
community the Jains had enough incentive to learn to read and write. They were
skilled in accounting. Moving from place to place, they had also developed
expertise in local languages and were invariably familiar with two or three
languages. The grandfather or Banarsidas had studied both Hindi and Persian.116 Hence, many Jains were offered jobs
in the administration, before and under the imperial Mughals and the local
nobility.

Jobs in the
administration were the next important source of livelihood for the Jains.

Sangram was appointed a
minister by Sher Shah Suri.117 His son Karmachandra eventually
rose to become a trusted minister of Akbar.118

Under Akbar the Great,
Than Singh was an important minister.119 He was responsible for Akbar's
invitation to Hiravijaya Suri.120

When Man Singh conquered
Bengal on behalf of Akbar, he carried with him a number of Jains, who were then
entrusted with the task of reorganizing the revenue administration. Diwan
Dhanna Srimal has been mentioned as one such official in Bengal.121 Kharagsen the father of Banarsidas
went to Bengal to serve under Dhanna Srimal. He was made a treasurer of Potdar
of four parganas and he collected revenue with the help of two karkuns
and forwarded the amount so collected to the local governor.122 He returned to Jaunpur after Dhanna
suddenly died.123

Nanu Gadha accompanied
Akbar's General Man Singh to Bengal. He became so affluent that he constructed
eighty temples in Bengal. He owned seventy-two elephants.124

Kharagsen's father
Muldas was also a government official, who served in the jaagir of Narwar,
granted to a Mughal official. It is reported that along with the collection of
the revenue, he also advanced loans and earned extra money.125

Another Jain, Jaita Shah
was also a confidante of Akbar.125a

Among other
administrative officials at the local level, mention may be made of Sahaskaran
of Viramgaon (near Ahmedabad), who commanded a force of 500 cavalry.126

Another Jain to make his
mark as a distinguished administrator was Muhnot Nainsi, who was at one time
the Prime Minister of Jodhpur and who came from a family of distinguished
administrators.127 He was a historian as well. He led
the State armed forces on several occasions. His valour on the battle-field
made the enemies tremble with tear.128

††††††† 4.††††† V.K. Jain, Trade and Traders in Western
India(AD 1000-1300), Delhi, 1990, p. 107. "Jagdu had regular
trade relation with Persia, was so rich that during a terrible famine lasting
for three years, he was able to distribute gram free to the people". Jagdu
had also built a mosque for the use of Muslims. Ibid, p. 79.

†††† 11.††††† The entire stock of coral brought by the
English in the ship Discovery from the Red Sea was purchased by Virji
Vora. EF1 (1646-50), p. 210; EF1 (1668-69), p. 195. The English
had temporarily broken their relations with Virji Vora in 1665. EF1 (1665-67),
p. 3, For his dealings with the Dutch, see EF1 (1668-50), p. 88;
Gokhale, p. 143. For his dealings with the French, Gokhale, pp. 143, 144, 145; EF1
(1668-69), p. 206.

†††† 27.††††† It is stated that in 1668 Virji Vora and
Haji Zahid had in stock enough quicksilver and vermilion to satisfy the
requirements of the "Whole country for many years". EFI
(1668-1669), p. 24.

†††† 38.††††† Banarsidas graphically describes how
Qulich Khan, the administrator of Jaunpur tyrannised over the local dealers in
precious stones, who to save themselves fled to nearby forests and hid
themselves. On another occasion when the news of he death of the Mughal emperor
became known, the whole town of Jaunpur anxiously waited for the outbreak of
violence. Ardhakathanak, pp. 111-13.

†††† 82.††††† Little p. xi; The Dutch in Bengal and
Bihar, Patna, p. 20. KK. Datta, pp. 122-23. Fatehchand in 1743 claimed and
received Rs. 25,000 from the English East India Company, which Russell had
borrowed from him and had died without repaying the amount.

†† 104.††††† Ibid., Surendra Gopal, "The Jain Community
and Akbar", Jainism and Prakrit in Ancient and Medieval India,
Bhattacharya (ed), Delhi, 1994, p. 423. Hemraj Patni of Patna was married to a
niece of Seth Hiranand Mukim of Agra.

†† 105.††††† Ibid, p. 24.

†† 106.††††† Ibid.

†† 107.††††† Ibid.

†† 108.††††† Ibid.

†† 109.††††† Ibid, pp. 30, 31ff

109a.††††† "The Jain Community and Akbar",
p. 425.

†† 110.††††† Indian Merchants and Entrepreneurs..,
pp. 68-69.

†† 111.††††† Ibid.

†† 112.††††† Ibid., p. 79.

†† 113.††††† Ibid. p. 29.

†† 114.††††† Ardhakathanak, vs 327 and 328.

†† 115.††††† W.J. Fischel, "The Jewish-Merchant
Colony In Madras (Fort St. George) During The 17th And 18th Centuries". Journal
of Social And Economic Histoy Of Orient, Vol. III, Part I, April 1960, p.
81.